Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

[The assessment of the consumption of food packaged in plastic containers].

This study assessed the consumption of foods packaged in plastic containers and the associated risk of microplastic (MP) ingestion. It found that MP contamination of packaged water, milk, fish, and seafood contributes substantially to total daily human MP intake.

2025 Voprosy pitaniia
Article Tier 2

Human Consumption of Microplastics

Researchers evaluated the American diet and estimated that the average person consumes between 39,000 and 52,000 microplastic particles per year through food alone, with the number rising significantly when inhalation and bottled water consumption are included. The study analyzed data from 26 prior studies covering common food categories. The findings highlight that microplastic exposure through everyday eating and drinking is widespread and substantial.

2019 Environmental Science & Technology 2428 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantification of microplastics released from plastic food containers during rinsing and migration by pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

Researchers measured microplastics released from plastic food containers during normal rinsing and when exposed to different food types and temperatures. All containers released microplastics matching their material, and high-fat foods, extreme temperatures, and longer exposure times increased the amount released. This study confirms that plastic food packaging is an important and direct source of microplastic exposure for people through their everyday meals.

2025 Food Chemistry 9 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

A systematic review and quality assessment of estimated daily intake of microplastics through food

This systematic review assessed how much microplastic people consume through food daily. While estimates vary widely due to differences in study methods, the evidence confirms that humans regularly ingest microplastics through seafood, water, salt, and other common foods.

2024 Reviews on Environmental Health 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Detection of nanoplastics released from consumer plastic food containers by electromagnetic heating pyrolysis mass spectrometry

Researchers developed a rapid method combining electromagnetic heating with mass spectrometry to detect and quantify nanoplastics released from consumer plastic food containers. They found that common containers released measurable quantities of nanoplastic particles, with concentrations varying based on container type and heating conditions. The study provides evidence that everyday food packaging is a direct source of nanoplastic exposure through the diet.

2024 Analytica Chimica Acta 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in take-out food containers

Scientists collected take-out food containers made from four polymer types in five Chinese cities and detected microplastics in all containers, with fragment counts and polymer compositions varying by container material and city of origin.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 385 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantifying Nanoplastics and Microplastics in Food and Beverages Using Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry: Challenges and Implications

Scientists used a specialized analytical technique to measure nanoplastics and microplastics in common Australian foods and beverages, estimating that people consume about 1.7 to 2.0 milligrams of plastic per year from drinks like water, tea, coffee, beer, and wine alone. The study also highlighted that current detection methods may undercount plastic contamination in solid foods because of measurement limitations.

2025 ACS Food Science & Technology 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro- and nanoplastics: Contamination routes of food products and critical interpretation of detection strategies

This review evaluates current methods for detecting micro and nanoplastics in food and beverages, from sample preparation to chemical identification. The authors highlight significant challenges including detection sensitivity limits, interference from food matrices, and a lack of standardized protocols. Better analytical tools are needed to accurately assess how much microplastic contamination people are actually consuming.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 33 citations
Article Tier 2

Food Contamination with Micro-plastics: Occurrences, Bioavailability,Human Vulnerability, and Prevention

The study reviews the occurrence, bioavailability, and potential health impacts of microplastics in food, noting that contamination has been detected in foodstuffs and beverages worldwide. Researchers highlight that current data on dietary microplastic exposure remains insufficient for comprehensive risk assessment, and call for standardized methodologies to better evaluate the threat to human health.

2023 Current Nutrition & Food Science 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Widely Used Polypropylene-Made Food Containers

Researchers found that all 210 polypropylene takeout food containers sampled from seven Chinese cities contained microplastics, with 3 to 43 particles per container, suggesting widespread human exposure to microplastics through commonly used food packaging.

2022 Toxics 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Life is Plastic? Detecting the Presence of Micro-Plastics in Food and Drink Containers

Researchers developed a novel wearable optical sensing system to detect the presence of microplastics in food and drink containers. The study highlights that humans may ingest significant quantities of microplastic fragments weekly, and demonstrates a low-cost approach using micro-controllers and signal processing for real-time microplastic detection.

2024 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro- and nano-plastic contamination in foods and potential risk to human health

This review summarizes the current state of knowledge about micro- and nanoplastic contamination in food, covering sources, occurrence, and analytical detection methods. Researchers found that while various foods, especially seafood, contain measurable levels of microplastics, the health risks to humans remain difficult to assess due to inconsistent research methods. The study calls for standardized approaches to better evaluate dietary exposure and potential health impacts.

2025 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastics, diet and human health: Accurately assessing exposure in adults.

This research project is developing methods to accurately measure how much plastic people are exposed to through their diet, including microplastics from food packaging. The study examines whether reducing plastic food packaging can lower dietary plastic exposure and simultaneously improve diet quality. It matters because understanding true dietary exposure is a prerequisite for assessing health risks from microplastics in food.

2024 UWA Profiles and Research Repository (University of Western Australia)
Article Tier 2

Microplastics from consumer plastic food containers: Are we consuming it?

Researchers analyzed new, unused plastic food containers and disposable cups and found that they shed significant amounts of microplastics even before being used. Round containers, rectangular containers, and cups released an average of 12, 38, and 3 milligrams of microplastic per item respectively, in various shapes and sizes. The findings suggest that plastic food packaging itself is an important and overlooked source of direct human exposure to microplastics.

2020 Chemosphere 308 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in food sold in France: a matter of containers ?

Researchers assessed microplastic contamination in food sold in France, comparing contamination levels across products packaged in different container types to determine whether packaging materials rather than environmental ubiquity represent the primary microplastic exposure route in the French food supply.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Evidence of Sub‐Micrometric Plastic Release When Heating Food Containers Based on Light Scattering Measurements

Researchers used light scattering measurements to detect sub-micrometric plastic particles released from food containers when heated. They found evidence that food-grade containers release tiny plastic fragments during normal heating conditions, at sizes below what most conventional detection methods can capture. The study suggests that current estimates of microplastic exposure from food packaging may undercount the actual amount released.

2024 Particle & Particle Systems Characterization 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Determination of microparticles, in particular microplastics in beverages

This study reviewed and tested methods for detecting microparticles including microplastics in beverages, addressing a gap in food safety monitoring. The research is relevant to understanding human exposure to microplastics through drinking water and packaged beverages.

2020 OPUS Repository (Kooperativer Bibliotheksverbund Berlin-Brandenburg) 4 citations
Review Tier 2

[Review of Methods and Risk Assessment of Microplastics from Food Sources].

This review examines methods for detecting and assessing the risks of microplastic contamination in food, covering exposure pathways from raw materials through processing and packaging. Researchers summarized analytical techniques for identifying microplastics in food products and evaluated approaches for assessing human health risks from dietary exposure. The study emphasizes the need for standardized detection methods and more comprehensive risk assessment frameworks for food-borne microplastics.

2025 PubMed 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Safety Issues of Microplastics Released from Food Contact Materials

This review examined safety concerns about microplastics migrating from food contact materials (packaging, containers, bottles) into food and beverages, finding evidence of human exposure through ingestion and highlighting the need for regulatory frameworks addressing plastic particle migration.

2023 Journal of Microbiology Biotechnology and Food Sciences 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in food packaging: Analytical methods, health risks, and sustainable alternatives

This review examines how microplastics from food packaging materials can migrate into the food we eat during storage and handling. It evaluates analytical methods for detecting this contamination and suggests biodegradable polymers as promising eco-friendly alternatives, while noting that standardized testing methods and risk assessment frameworks are still needed.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and nanoplastics in food, water, and beverages; part I. occurrence

Researchers reviewed what is currently known about the presence of microplastics and nanoplastics in food, water, and beverages, concluding that while contamination has been detected across many products, a lack of standardized detection methods makes it difficult to fully assess the food safety risks to human health.

2022 TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry 154 citations
Article Tier 2

Food contact articles as source of micro- and nanoplastics: a systematic evidence map

Researchers mapped 103 studies on how micro- and nanoplastics migrate from food packaging, containers, and utensils directly into food during normal use, compiling over 600 data points into a searchable database. They found that everyday plastic food contact — from bottles to cutting boards — is a consistent source of human microplastic exposure, and call for mandatory migration testing in food safety regulations.

2025 npj Science of Food 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Foods and Beverages

This review examines microplastic contamination across a wide range of food and beverage products, describing the detection techniques used to identify microplastic particles and summarizing findings on which products are most affected. The authors also discuss the potential health consequences of human dietary microplastic ingestion.

2024 Repository of the Faculty of Food Technology Osijek
Article Tier 2

Microplastic contamination: a human health concern and an analytical challenge

This review examined how microplastics (5 mm–0.1 μm) and nanoplastics (down to 1 nm) contaminate food, water, and air, summarizing harmful effects on marine and terrestrial ecosystems and discussing analytical challenges in detecting and quantifying these particles in environmental and food matrices.

2025 UniTERAMO Research Catalog (University of Teramo)